Welcome.
I'd like to invite you to arrive in this moment,
Here and now,
And let everything else fall away.
For today's meditation I'd like for us to try out a labeling technique.
So go ahead and get settled under your chair or cushion,
Find a comfortable and erect posture,
One that has a straight back but you're also relaxed,
Not too stiff.
And I'll be guiding you on how to do this meditation along the way.
I'll ring the bell three times to start and two times to end.
Let's begin.
Let your breath fall naturally.
Let your thoughts settle down and just be in the moment as you sit.
Now while you're sitting you're going to notice things.
There'll be things that come into your consciousness,
Whether the thoughts or sounds,
Things that will distract you.
And so what we're going to do is we're going to label those things.
We're not going to judge them,
Good or bad.
There's a difference.
Labeling just simply means assigning a word to it,
A word that is non-judgmental,
Just simply describes what you notice.
So as you're sitting,
If you're noticing the thoughts starting to come up and run away with you,
You can just simply say to yourself,
Thinking or thoughts.
So go ahead and give that one a try.
Perhaps there's something else that has come up,
Maybe a sound that distracted you.
You could use the word hearing or sound.
Perhaps there's something going on in your body that you're noticing,
Maybe a little bit of discomfort or perhaps an itch.
And so you could just use the word feeling.
Now as you sit,
If there's any other things that you notice that you'd like to assign a word to,
Feel free to come up with your own.
Just make sure it doesn't pass judgment on whatever it is that you're noticing.
Another word that you could use would be breathing.
If you choose to use that one.
Now this function is also a focusing point.
So even though the breath may not be distracting,
It's still a way for you to focus your attention so those thoughts aren't pulling you away from this moment.
Now you can use different words to express different things that you're noticing as you go.
Or perhaps you'd like to choose just one word.
But just use it to come back to the moment when you find yourself wandering or getting distracted.
Just come back to the word.
Yes.
Thank you.
Remember to resist the urge to judge what you're feeling,
Thinking,
Or hearing.
Accept it.
Even welcome it to your experience.
Because the experience is about the now,
This moment.
And accepting it as part of our journey.
Enjoy the moment.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
I'll see you next time.
